Current single tire and dual tire manual wheelbarrows provide an excellent method of moving loads from one location to another. These manual wheel barrows provide an acceptable means of manually transporting materials or goods from one location by grasping the two handles and pushing or pulling the wheeled unit over the ground. Because of their configuration, the manual wheelbarrow provides for the individual to raise the handles and dump the loaded materials or goods when the intended destination is reached. They are versatile in that they allow the operator to move it and the load freely in a forward or reverse direction and allows the operator to freely turn in any degree of direction while motion or in a stationary position. The usefulness of wheelbarrows is well known to those involved in construction, gardening, and home improvement where loads are moved and transported form one place to another.
Current wheelbarrow designs consisting of a front dump brace, a wheel or set of wheels, aligned on a single axel located forward of the center of gravity of the tray or tub, a frame, and operating handles well to the rear of the tray provide a unique tool in that due to its design a relatively heavy load may be balanced and moved to a desired location. Single wheel designs are the most popular as they are the most economical, yet they require the most effort to operate in that not only does the operator need to power the movement of the unit but also needs to maintain the balance while moving it over rough terrain and up or down hills. Two wheel designs incorporate the same effort to move forward and reverse as the single wheel with the advantage of the need for balance being eliminated by two wheels located on either side of the tray centerline. Both designs provide for significant maneuverability.
Currently, there have been attempts to power or motorize wheelbarrows by using gasoline-powered or electric engines in order to propel the wheelbarrow and load carried in the wheelbarrow. However, such attempts to power wheelbarrows have resulted in little more than powered carts. The current versions and designs of powered wheelbarrows do not operate like the current manual wheelbarrows available in the market place. They do not provide for a wheelbarrow designs consisting of a front dump brace, a wheel or set of wheels, aligned on a single axel located forward of the center of gravity of the tray or tub, a frame, and operating handles well to the rear of the tray. Nor do they allow for the operator to lift the handles which results in raising the entire unit, frame, wheels, and tray to a vertical ninety-degree position and dump the loaded materials or goods when the intended destination is reached. Current attempts do not allow for the entire unit to be raised to a full vertical position to dump the load in a single motion. These units require that the tray or pan be raised manually, by itself, while the frame and drive system stay stationary on the ground
A significant problem with a single wheel motorized wheelbarrow can be that the battery, motor and drive means must operate properly in a numerous and wide variety of orientations relative to the single wheel or the support surface engaged to the single wheel. This is true because the conventional operation of a wheelbarrow having only a single wheel allows for rotation of a frame about the rotation axis of the single wheel located proximate to the front end of the frame as the rear end of the frame is lifted to initiate travel of the wheelbarrow from a first location to a second location. This rotation of the frame about the axis of the single wheel locates the frame in various orientations relative to the support surface engaged with the single wheel. This manner of rotation of the frame about the axis of a single wheel is entirely unlike the operation of wheelbarrows having a plurality of wheels which do not allow a significant amount of rotation of the frame about one or more of the plurality of wheels. Additionally, as a wheelbarrow with a single wheel travels it can tilt from side to side to alter the direction of travel or may be laid on its side during use. Moreover, in order to transfer materials from the load carrier of a wheelbarrow having a single wheel, the frame may be rotated about axis of the single wheel to tilt the load carrier to disgorge the materials contained within the load carrier or the wheelbarrow may be completely overturned.
Conventional wheelbarrows have a dump brace placed forward of the wheels to assume the weight of the wheelbarrow support system as the unit is elevated for dumping. The weight of the load in the tub or dumping pan is transferred to the dump brace and then to the lip of the tub to empty the load from the tub. The front lip of the tub and the tub itself must be strong enough to support the weight of the transferring load and the wheelbarrow itself. An additional challenge is that the current traditional dump brace and front of the tub lip are too sharp and tend to cut the plastic membrane used in landscape beds. In addition, because the front lip of the tub is used in a weight-bearing role, it is grounded when dumping the load-making it near impossible to completely empty the tub in a 90 degree upright position. A conventional wheelbarrow, when dumped, uses the front lip of the tub as the dump fulcrum. The standard tub design is not strong enough to bear the added weight of the motor and drive system and power supply.